Nurses: Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask

Nurses are a very popular audience for a wide variety of marketing offers. Our database has nearly 5.6 million state licensed nurses with dozens of specialties and 400+ demographic & lifestyle selects available, making the targeting possibilities endless. Not to mention all the CNAs, CRNAs, and NPs!

What is the difference between all the Nurse types, and what options are available to target your perfect audience? I’m here to answer your burning questions!

Nurse Types

CNAs: Certified Nursing Assistants, also referred to as Certified Nursing Aides, Nurse Aides, or State Tested Nurse Aides (STNA), they provide the most basic care to patients. This is an entry-level nursing position and requires the least amount of training.

LPNs/LVNs: Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) and Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) are actually the same thing, which is why we select them both when one is requested. The only difference is location – California and Texas refer to them as LVNs, while the rest of the US calls them LPNs. They assist doctors and higher level nurses in caring for patients, and may oversee CNAs.

RNs: Registered Nurses provide care for patients and may supervise lower-level nurses. They have either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in nursing and may get further training in a specific specialty.

APNs/APRNs: Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) provide the same type of care as RNs, but have more authority when it comes to making decisions. They have a higher level of education, with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) at a minimum.

CRNAs: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists are advanced practice registered nurses who administer anesthesia services, similar to anesthesiologists, in hospitals, surgical centers, dentists’ offices, etc. They have a graduate level education and can work autonomously.

NPs: Nurse Practitioners are classified as mid-level practitioners and have earned at least a Master’s degree and additional specialized training. They can prescribe medication, including controlled substances, without physician supervision.

Nurse Specialties

CNAs do not have specialties. However, LPNs, LVNs, and RNs can be selected by several specialties, including Critical Care, Emergency, Geriatrics, Operating Room, Pediatrics, and Public Health.

Advanced Practice Nurses include clinical nurse specialists, CRNAs, midwives, and nurse practitioners, all of which can be selected.

Nurse Practitioners can specialize in many of the same things as a medical doctor, so we have over 100 specialties available to select from, including Cardiology, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Oncology, Pediatrics, Sports Medicine, and more.

Location

The vast majority of the CNAs, LPN/LVNs, and RNs in our database are at home address, so we generally cannot select their work setting, except for School Nurses. And we can select Traveling Nurses – these nurses travel to different locations throughout the country when there is a temporary need for their services.

We can select Nurse Practitioners at their home or work address, and specifically target if they work in private practice, a hospital, or clinic location.

Demographics / Lifestyles

Depending on your offer, you may want to target nurses based on their age, gender, language spoken, income, ethnicity, mail order buying habits, home ownership, marital status, number of children, or hobbies. All of these options are available – just let us know what you’re looking for!

About Amy Badurina

Amy Badurina is the Marketing Maven at Complete Medical Lists. She is passionate about good design, photography, hiking, and her three boys.